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South African anti-apartheid activist Epainette Mbeki dies

June 16 [2013]- Former President Thabo Mbeki‘s mother says she’s worried about Nelson Mandela‘s health. Nomaka Epainette Mbeki says she knows how difficult it is to be in hospital at his age, and hopes he’s not in too much pain.

She then became an active member of the liberation movement in Durban.

She married Govan in 1940 and moved to the Transkei where the family set up a trading store in the Idutywa district.

The store earned the family a living and was run by Epainette Mbeki after her husband became involved in national politics.

The couple had four children, Linda, Thabo, Moeletsi and Jama. Epainette Mbeki raised them and contributed to her husband’s newspaper, Inkundla ya Bantu. Epainette Mbeki was also a founding member of the National African Chamber of Commerce.

After Govan was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia Treason Trial, Epainette’s children Thabo, Moeletsi and Jama went into exile. She remained at Mbeluweni and kept the store open. She was continuously harassed by the authorities.

She moved to Ncgingwane in 1974, closer to the town of Dutywa where she continued to work as an activist for social upliftment and re-opened the family shop.

She continued to work toward uplifting her community until her death, supervising her many projects and giving advice to those who sought it.

In her later years, Epainette Mbeki — by then affectionately known as MaMbeki — ran a beadwork and sewing programme in her community. …

After Thabo Mbeki’s removal from office, Epainette Mbeki reportedly said she held no ill-feelings toward his ousters, saying life was too short to harbour ill will.

In a September 2012 interview with The Star newspaper, Epainette Mbeki said she knew her cellphone number off by heart, enjoyed reading newspapers daily and watching television news.